EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 24 (2017) 39-45 PRELIMINARY EVIDENCES OF A PALEOSOL IN THE LIVING LANDSCAPE OF CIVITA DI BAGNOREGIO (ITALY) Sara Marinari (1)*, Maria Cristina Moscatelli (1) , Flavia Fiordelmondo (1) , Rosita Marabottini (1) , Giovanni Maria Di Buduo (2) , Gilmo Vianello (3) (1) Dipartimento per l’innovazione dei sistemi Biologici, Agroalimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo (2) Museo Geologico e delle Frane, Civita di Bagnoregio, Viterbo (3) Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna Corresponding author Email: [email protected] Abstract A paleosol has been identified in an area of great natural interest for its geomorphologic and naturalistic aspects between the municipalities of Bagnoregio and Castiglione in Teverina (Viterbo, Italy). This investigation represents the preliminary steps of a study aimed to know the specific environmental features and dynamics prior to the eruptions of the "nenfri" of the Paleovulsini complex. The physico-chemical characteristics and some horizons morphological details such as the presence of roots fingerprint, the polyhedric angular and columnar structure suggest incipient weathering and pedogenesis. Moreover, the presence of nodules and the high salinity of deep horizons suggest the incorporation of pyroclastic material into a hydromorphic environment at the time of the eruptions, putting forward the hypothesis of a paleo-marsh under an arid paleoclimate. Keywords: paleosol, pyroclastic material, microbiological analysis, Civita di Bagnoregio Introduction A paleosol has been identified in an area of great natural interest for its geomorphologic and naturalistic aspects between the municipalities of Bagnoregio and Castiglione in Teverina (northern Lazio, bordering Umbria). Particular attention is given to landslides and erosive events repetition that affect both the cliff on which Civita rises and the adjacent "Valle dei Calanchi" (Fig. 1). The instability of the slopes and the badlands formation are due to the movements of the marine clays underlying the volcanic deposits of the Paleovulsini Complex (Palladino et al., 2010; Mancini et al., 2003-2004) (Fig. 2). These conditions give rise to a living landscape. The paleosol is placed at the base of the volcanic sequence, a few meters above the roof of the Pliocene-Pleistocene marine deposits (massive limestone clay) in the area among Civita di Bagnoregio, the "Valle dei calanchi" and Sermugnano with the outcrop continuing towards SO-NE for about 4 km. DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7289 39 S. Marinari et al. / EQA, 24(2017) 39-45 Figure 1 Civita di Bagnoregio and the "Valle dei Calanchi” on the right. Materials and methods Soil sampling and preliminary morphological analysis of the profile (0-200 cm) were performed at Sermugnano (Fig. 2) on May 25, 2017. Before soil samples were collected, a preliminary treatment of the profile was performed by removing a thickness of approximately 5 cm of the air exposed surface so as to limit the environmental contamination phenomena. Figure 2 Tectonic scheme of the Latium region. From Mancini et al., 2003-2004 (modified). 1) location of the sampling site (Sermugnano) - 2)“neoautochtho nous” sedime-tary successions, of the marine, transitional and non- marine environments (Pliocene- Quaternary) - 3) volcanic and volcano-sedimentary successions (Pliocene-Late Pleistocene) - 4) sedimentary successions of the intermontane basins (Pliocene- Quaternary) - 5) carbonate and siliciclastic successions of the Umbro-Sabina domain (Trias- Miocene) - 6) siliciclastic and carbonate successions of the Tuscan and Ligurid domains (Trias-Miocene) - 7) normal fault - 8) buried normal fault – 9) transcurrent fault - 10) caldera rim. 40 EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 24 (2017) 39-45 Along the profile, 8 horizons were identified (Fig. 3) and for each one a soil sample was collected. The soil samples were air-dried, milled and hand screened to 2 mm prior to analysis. Physical and chemical analyses were carried out according to the Italian official methods (MiPAF, 2000). The pH was determined potentiometrically in a 1:2.5 (w/v) soil-deionised water suspension for mineral or organic horizons (Van Reeuwijk 2002). The total organic C (TOC) and total N (TN) contents were measured by dry combustion (EA-1110 Thermo Scientific Lab). The exchangeable cations were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES; Ametek, Arcos Spectro) after exchange with 1 M NH4+ acetate at pH 7 (Summer and Miller 1996). Amorphous iron oxide (FeO) and aluminium oxide (AlO) forms were estimated by extraction with acid ammonium oxalate (Schwertmann 1964), and Fe and Al in the extracts were measured by ICP-OES. Microbial biomass content was determined using fumigation-extraction method (Vance et al., 1987). The organic C from fumigated and unfumigated samples extracted with 0.5 M K2SO4 was measured using a TOC analyser (TOC-VCPN, Shimadzu). The enzymatic activities (cellulase, α- and β- glucosidase, xylosidase, acid phosphatase, chitinase, arylsulfatase and butyrate esterase) were determined according to the method described by Marx et al. (2001) and Vepsäläinen et al. (2001) using fluorogenic methylumbelliferyl (MUF) substrates.. The elements considered for the attribution of the term "Paleosol" are the presence of morphological figures related to plant roots, the presence of profile horizons and evidences of soil structures (Retallack, 1988). Figure 3 The paleosol in question: (i) burial level of the paleosol (ii) horizons differentiation (iii) pyroclastic material which sealed the paleosol Results and discussion The deposits of the volcanic complex Paleovulsini are characterized by several tra- chytic-phonolithic pyroclastic flow units dated to the area under examination (at Civitella d'Agliano, 5 km to SSE of Sermugnano) with K / Ar 505.2 ± 5.7 (Nappi et al., 1995) and known as formation of Civitella d'Agliano (Aurisicchio et al., 1992) DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7289 41 S. Marinari et al. / EQA, 24(2017) 39-45 or “nenfri” (Cioni et al., 1987; Nappi et al., 1995). Several flow units have been recognized above the paleosol, but although they have similar characteristics (though with small thicknesses), it has not yet been possible to reliably correlate them to the "nenfri". From the morphological description of the profile the follo- wing evidences emerged: deep and surface diffused fine roots (1 mm) , sometimes designating a diffuse carbonic veil (Fig. 4a); sporadic roots 1.0-1.5 cm wide, in the deep layers with shape similar to rhizome (Fig. 4b); a polyhedric angular and co- lumnar structure (Fig 4 c), the presence of nodules whose dimensions range from 1 to 10 mm suggesting the incorporation of pyroclastic material into a hydromorphic environment at the time of the eruptions (Fig. 4 d). The sedimentation areas identified in the Sermugnano area are swamp, tin or ripening environment. The physico-chemical characteristics of the paleosol analyzed (Tables 1-3) suggest pedogenic alteration of rock substrates as incipient weathering and a paleo-marsh environment with arid paleoclimate due to the high saline concentration, especially in the deep horizons (5 and 6). Figure 4 Morphological details: (a) surface diffused fine roots (1 mm); (b) sporadic roots (1.0-1.5 cm wide) in deep horizons, with shape like rhizome; (c) presence of nodules from 1 to 10 mm; (d) polyhedric angular and columnar structure Table 1. Physico-chemical properties of paleosol Hori Depth TOC TN pH CSC CaCO3 EC ESP Sand Silt Clay -1 -1 -zons cm g kg H2O KCl Cmol(+)kg % dS/m % % 1 0-30 1.0 0.3 7.5 7.0 32 5 1.6 12 28.5 40.2 31.3 2 30-60 1.0 0.3 7.2 6.8 30 2 6.0 12 17.6 66.5 15.9 3 60-70 0.7 0.3 7.1 6.6 28 2 6.6 8 33.9 55.1 11.0 4 70-90 0.8 0.3 7.2 6.6 24 2 7.5 11 35.1 51.4 13.5 5 90-110 1.1 0.3 7.1 6.9 25 4 11.0 18 38.4 49.3 12.3 6 110-150 1.7 0.4 7.1 7.0 26 1 16.7 23 15.8 66.6 17.6 7 150-170 1.7 0.3 7.5 7.1 27 tr. 2.4 6 17.6 60.3 22.1 8 170-200 0.1 0.1 7.2 7.0 22 tr. 1.1 4 37.1 49.4 13.5 //// 42 EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 24 (2017) 39-45 Table 2. Total elements content in paleosol. Hori Depth Si Al Fe Mn K Mg Na Ca S -zons cm g kg-1 1 0-30 0.106 52.5 41.5 --- 8.8 3.1 2.3 11.2 0.7 2 30-60 0.069 78.9 55.3 0.3 11.3 3.7 3.1 14.1 1.6 3 60-70 0.043 60.7 44.6 0.4 8.3 3.2 2.1 10.8 1.5 4 70-90 0.075 59.0 43.1 0.2 7.7 3.5 0.6 7.6 1.4 5 90-110 0.344 63.6 50.4 0.3 8.7 3.7 0.8 7.4 1.4 6 110-150 0.042 85.3 52.4 0.3 8.6 3.9 1.2 8.0 0.8 7 150-170 0.060 103.6 38.3 0.1 7.0 2.2 1.1 6.1 1.6 8 170-200 0,099 98.2 37.4 0.1 6.7 1.6 0.4 6.4 0.5 //// Table 3. Content of elements extracted in ammonium oxalate acid (o), sodium pyropho- sphate (p) and solubles (s). Depth Si Al Fe Mn Si Al Fe Mn F Cl NO3 SO4 Hori (o) (o) (o) (o) (p) (p) (p) (p) (s) (s) (s) (s) -zons cm mg kg-1 1 0-30 70 159 78 14 25 31 25 4 80 761 487 5033 2 30-60 34 86 35 10 77 100 81 7 26 2411 393 481 3 60-70 14 133 73 23 18 75 40 6 13 2982 333 613 4 70-90 25 125 93 14 60 38 36 4 12 1894 241 914 5 90-110 147 107 164 24 56 33 31 2 12 4835 347 487 6 110-150 36 141 140 3 7 103 90 2 15 9115 396 103 7 150-170 47 159 96 6 8 121 14 1 23 1257 100 37 8 170-200 14 95 57 6 76 32 7 1 35 207 --- 0 The significant decrease in organic carbon and of the biochemical properties in surface horizons compared to the deep ones suggested the "baking" effect of the pyroclastic particles on the surface of the paleosol (horizons 1-4) which generated a loss of organic matter and of biologically active forms (Fig.